Common to all models of reading comprehension is the assumption that a reader's level of comprehension is heavily influenced by their standards of coherence (van den Broek, Risden, & Husbye-Hartman, 1995). Our discussion focuses on a subcomponent of the readers' standards of coherence: the coherence threshold. We situate this discussion within…

According to the Simple View of Reading, reading ability can be divided into decoding and language comprehension. In the present study, decoding and comprehension's contribution to reading ability was studied both in children with reading difficulties and in children with typical reading ability. Decoding and comprehension was further divided into…

The highly regular orthographies (spelling systems) of many nations expedite literacy development, and their children experience a rapid transition from early literacy (learning to read and write) to sophisticated literacy (reading and writing to learn). In contrast, English orthographic complexity impedes literacy development, particularly for…

At the level of clinical speech/language evaluation, the repetition type of conduction aphasia is characterized by repetition difficulties concomitant with reduced short-term memory capacities, in the presence of fluent spontaneous speech as well as unimpaired naming and reading abilities. It is still unsettled which dysfunctions of the…

This study examined the effects of assisted-repeated reading on four first-grade students whose reading ability varied (a special education student, a non-classified poor reader, an English Language Learner (ELL) student, and a general education student) to determine if an assisted-repeated reading intervention is differentially effective for…

Unsupported assumptions that dyslexics differ from other poor readers by having higher intelligence are challenged by a developmental model proposing that reading difficulty results from early language delays and environmental factors. A mixed transactional model that incorporates early language problems and IQ may be more appropriate. (SK)

Addresses the question of the relative contributions of surface word forms and root morphemes in word representation and recognition. (FL)

Examines and rejects two traditional assumptions about fluent reading: that identification of letters is necessary to identify words; and that identification of words is necessary to comprehend. Proposes that identification and comprehension are two separate tasks and that a reader comprehends because he reads for meaning in the first place. (MB)

The first section of this two-part collection of articles contains six papers and their discussions read at a symposium on Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading. The papers cover the linguistic, perceptual, and cognitive components involved in reading. The models attempt to integrate the variables that influence the perception, recognition,…

Examined effects of orthographic context on the letter recognition skills of dyslexic children, comparing their performance to that of adults and of chronological and reading age-matched groups. Results showed that the two matched groups showed strong word superiority effect (WSE) for words and pseudowords over nonwords. Dyslexic readers did not…

A project was organized to understand and identify basic variations in reading ability by its information processing components. Focusing on three major processing levels in reading--word analysis, discourse analysis, and integration of word/discourse analysis--preliminary research identified perceptual and cognitive skill components of reading…

This paper presents a cognitive model of reading disability that looks at how the disability develops across the age and grade span and how it relates to the process of reading acquisition in normal-achieving readers. The model uses the metaphor of a "road map," which identifies the normal road to proficient reading through six phases: visual-cue…

In an effort to create a multilevel, interactive, and hypothesis-based model of the reading comprehension process that bridges interdisciplinary gaps in the theory of learning, this report focuses on descriptions of cognitive processes developed in the fields of cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, sociolinguistics, linguistics, and…

Proceeding from a definition of "story schema" as an idealized internal representation of the parts of a typical story and the relationships among those parts, this paper explores the role of story schemata in reading comprehension. The paper also identifies variables that may affect the way in which schemata function and outlines the…